(Reuters) - The chief executive of STMicroelectronics said on Wednesday the French-Italian chipmaker was seeing signs of an upturn - a period of increased market demand - that would boost its results in the coming quarters.
Chipmakers such as STMicro, which operates in the automotive, industrial and consumer electronics markets, have been facing a decline in orders for several years due to overcapacity, high inventories and low demand.
However, at a BNP Paribas (OTC: BNPQY ) event in Paris, CEO Jean-Marc Chery said STMicro would at least reach the midpoint of its second quarter guidance. In its last earnings report, the company had forecast sales of 2.71 billion dollars for the middle of the quarter.
"The dynamics are quite interesting. Why? Because the book-to-bill ratio has been well above parity since the beginning of the quarter ... That means we're in an upward momentum," he said.